


War of Attrition

by PastelSlytherin



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - World War II, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2019-11-27 17:37:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18197285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelSlytherin/pseuds/PastelSlytherin
Summary: World War ll Au!It was only worsened when someone seized it to flip him over.“Damn it! You idiot,” he gasped and when he blinked back the darkness edging in on his vision, it was Merlin peering down at him.Merlin on the battlefield.“Sorry, I’m sorry.” Merlin breathed.His face was white underneath his helmet, and his skinny frame was tucked into an actual uniform for once. He even had a gun slung over his shoulder.“What?” Arthur started but Merlin hushed him.He kept looking up every few seconds between trying to peel Arthur’s uniform away enough to look at his wound and looking for all the world as if he couldn’t stop staring at Arthur’s face.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm definitely not an expert on World War ll so if anythings completely wrong or I completely mess up any terms, feel free to tell me! Thanks for reading!

Arthur winced in pain and gingerly touched his arm where Leon’s steadily darkening shirt was wrapped around it.

It had been a stupid mistake. If he had just waited for Elyan to reload then he could have covered him when he moved postitions. He scowled and kicked the footlocker by his bed.

“And who are you then?” Arthur demanded, for a tall and gangly boy had just slipped into the tent.

“Er. Sorry. Gaius said you were in need of a medic?” The boy said, holding a bag emblazoned with the symbol of the red cross up for Arthur to see. Other than that, he was wearing dark colored clothes with no sign of who he was.

“Gaius sent _you?_ ” Arthur asked, “What would you know of medicine? You look too young for enlisting.”

“No offense, but I don’t think you should insult the one who’s going to be treating your wounds. Besides, I’m plenty old enough to be drafted, as it turns out. You can’t be much older than me. What are you, 24 or 25?”

Arthur was, in fact, 24 but he wasn’t planning on admitting it him. He was a little thrown by how this strange man was speaking to him.

“Don’t you know who I am?” He asked.

The man looked up from where he’d begun to unpack his bag onto Arthur’s table, seemingly uncaring the mess he made of the papers there.

“Sorry, have we met? I’m new and I’ve met so many soldiers these past few days. I’m Merlin.” Merlin gave an exaggerated bow and continued his work.

“No, we haven’t met. And I’m no ordinary soldier. My name is Arthur Pendragon.” Arthur said importantly.

Merlin’s hands stilled where he had begun to roll up his sleeves.

“Oh,” He said dumbly, “Gaius didn’t mention that.”

“Well, _I’m_ mentioning it.” Arthur bristled, “And you’d do well to remember it. And hurry up! If this wound were any worse, I’d have bled out by now.”

Merlin frowned but he finished his sleeves and approached Arthur.

“Any reason you didn’t immediately report to the medical tent?” Merlin asked as he rolled up Arthur’s sleeve and pinned it so it’d stay. Arthur’s arm had been hastily wrapped on the way back to his tent. It wasn’t a terrible wound, a bullet had only grazed him.

Arthur glared at Merlin who didn’t seem to notice as he wandered back over to the table to grab some of his supplies.

“I don’t like going there. It’s depressing. And I waited a bit to summon anyone to make sure the worst-offs were taken care of first.” He winced as Merlin pressed a liquid-soaked cloth to his skin.

“I can’t argue with that,” Merlin said.

Something in his voice made Arthur ask, “You don’t like working in the infirmary?”

Merlin huffed a laugh.

“Definitely not. I used to faint at the sight of blood. I got over that quickly enough here though.”

Arthur wondered if she should be worried that Gaius had sent this person to tend to him, but nothing Merlin was doing seemed amiss.

“Why are you working for them? I thought you had to have prior training to be put in medical instead of becoming a soldier.”

Merlin began wrapping bandages around Arthur’s arm.

“Normally you do. But uh…And I wouldn’t be telling you this, but Gaius speaks highly of you…Gaius is my uncle and he managed to get me placed with him. And I guess they agreed that I wouldn’t be much use in a fight.” Merlin gestured to himself almost self-deprecatingly.

That much was true. Merlin was skinny enough that Arthur could probably take him apart with one blow.

Merlin finished with Arthur’s bandages and unpinned his sleeve.

“It should be fine in a week or so. If it changes color or starts leaking…things... then you come straight to the infirmary, you understand?” Merlin tried to look stern but Arthur certainly wasn’t intimidated, “Are there any other injuries, _sire_?”

Arthur glared but Merlin’s teasing smile didn’t falter.

“No.” He snapped, and Merlin turned to put away his things.

 “Alright, alright. No need to get annoyed. I’ll just be on my way.” 

Arthur examined his bandages while Merlin packed his bag and wiped up some of the blood that Arthur hadn’t noticed he’d trailed. They were actually done neatly even though Merlin didn’t seem like he’d be professional at anything.

Merlin waved on his way out of the tent but Arthur didn’t bother to say goodbye.

 

“Arthur, can you see anything?” Leon asked.

“No. Any word from Percival?” Arthur asked, lowering himself back into the foxhole.

Leon drank from his canteen then offered it to Arthur who accepted it gratefully. The last time he’d been to the infirmary, to check up on Lancelot, Merlin had lectured both of them on the dangers of dehydration. He was hoping to avoid it the next time he went.

He wondered how he and Lancelot were getting on. They’d seemed friendly when he was there, though Lancelot was friendly to everyone. Merlin seemed to even get along with Gwaine.

“I don’t think they’re back yet. Hold on,” Lean scrambled across the hole to grab the flashlight and he carefully used it to flash morse code to the foxhole where Gwaine and Tristan were hiding. A few seconds later, they responded.

“No, sir. No sign of them yet. What should we do?” Leon said, stuffing the flashlight back into his bag.

“We’ll give them a few more minutes. Someone should fetch a medic. Percival wouldn’t be late for no reason.” Arthur said.

Leon paused, “Merlin, sir?”

Arthur gave him a sharp look.

“Just get whoever’s free, Leon. We don’t have the time to be picky.”

Leon nodded and Arthur grabbed his gun to spot him as he prepared to make a run towards the trenches.

No one made any shots and Arthur was able to breathe again. He didn’t want his men to pick up on it, but Percival and Elyan being late made him nervous. Resigned to not being able to rest until Leon gets back, Arthur set himself up with his gun over his lap to wait.

It’s around a half hour later when he sees the flashing coming from Gwaine’s hole. He scrambled to grab the flashlight and then deciphered the message.

“B-A-C-K”

Arthur turned his own on.

“H-U-R-T”

A pause.

“Y-E-S”

Arthur swore under his breath.

“C-O-V-E-R”

He waited for an affirmative before he grabbed his bags, took a deep breath, and darted across the distance to Gwaine’s hole.

Elyan was there, sweat-soaked and cursing wildly as Tristan wrapped his bleeding leg in one of their glags, which maybe wasn’t so patriotic but Arthur hardly felt that mattered at the moment.

Percival was beside him, also sweating and trying to help Elyan take a sip out of his canteen.

“What happened?” Arthur asked, sliding down to squat next to Percival.

“Rogue sentry. We got him but not before he got a lucky shot.” Percival said.

“Leon’s gone to get a medic, but it may be some time before one’s able to help us. Do you think we can carry him?” Arthur looked to Gwaine who nodded.

“Alright. Percival, are you hurt?” Arthur looked at him but he just shook his head, “Okay.  Gwaine and I will take Elyan back to the trench and get him a medic. Percival, you stay here at your post. Tristan, alert the commander that we’re short a few men and to dispatch a full unit. Then both of you report back to me when they arrive.”

“Yes, sir.” They said together.

Arthur and Gwaine lifted Elyan and carefully climbed out of the hole with Tristan and Percival covering them. They set off towards the trench.

“Find Leon.” Arthur told the soldier who ushered them in and closed the door after them, “Let him know that we’re here and to rest up.”

The soldier muttered an affirmative and Arthur pulled Elyan and Gwaine towards the infirmary. As always, the infirmary was pretty packed and Arthur wasn’t surprised to see the medics were running around. He spotted Merlin carrying bandages to where Gaius was bent over another soldier and before he fully thought about it, he was shouting, “Merlin!”

Merlin spun around, saw them, and waved. He dropped off his bandages before pointing at an empty bed and hurrying to clean up the blood-spattered sheets and replace them.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s been really hectic around here.” He said when Arthur and Gwaine finally heaved Elyan up onto the bed, “Just one gunshot?”

Elyan nodded as Merlin used scissors to cut away his pants leg and grabbed a few instruments.

“Gwaine, can you grab those clean cloths and the alcohol? Arthur, can you clean up some of the blood from his leg?” Merlin ran off before either could respond so Arthur found a rag and some water and carefully wiped away the blood and pressed it against his wound so more wouldn’t come out.

“You’re going to be okay, Elyan.” Arthur murmured,

“Yes,” Merlin agreed, appearing again beside them and holding a syringe, “But you’ll lose less blood if your heart’s not beating so fast so…sorry about this.”

Before Elyan could protest, Merlin injected the syringe into his arm. He grabbed the alcohol soaked cloth from Gwaine and set to furiously scrubbing his surgery instruments, which were, Arthur realized with a sick feeling, stained in blood.

Finally, he deemed them clean enough to actually start extracting the bullet from Elyan’s leg. Gwaine turned green and excused himself but Arthur stayed to help. When Merlin was finally finished and Elyan’s leg was wrapped in bandages, they were both covered in blood, sweat, and alcohol.

“Thanks,” Merlin said, pausing finally to look at Arthur for the first time, “I really appreciate your help.”

“You look dead on your feet. How long have you been here?” Arthur asked.

It was the truth. Merlin’s clothes were stiff with dried blood and his pale skin was stained with it even on his face and neck. His hair was a mess and his eyes were red with exhaustion.

“Five this morning? To be honest, I have no clue what time it is.” He looked around and having decided that everything was under control, he sagged against the bedside table.

Arthur unhooked his canteen from his pack and offered it to Merlin who gratefully took it and chugged.

“Thanks for taking care of him. Lancelot too. You’re pretty good at this, actually.” Arthur said.

Merlin capped the canteen and handed it back, “You sound surprised?”

“Yeah, well. The first time we met, you said you fainted at the sight of blood. Look at you now.”

“True,” Merlin shrugged, “See anything enough times and you get used to it. How long are you back?”

“I’m not sure. We’re not supposed to be back yet but I made an executive decision. I guess we’ll wait for Lancelot to heal up so we’re not short two men.”

Merlin smiled, “That’s good. Maybe you can help me some more. We make a good team.”

“Yeah, sure. But only if you go rest now. You can’t help anyone if you pass out mid-surgery.” Arthur said sternly.

“Deal.” Merlin nodded and let Arthur walk him to the Medics quarters.


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur never got around to helping Merlin, considering he’d basically ordered a retreat for his men without consulting his father or anyone else in command.

After a week of bureaucratic hoop-jumping and paperwork, he was allowed to take his uninjured men back to training while they waited for Lance and Elyan to finish healing. This meant more time supervising training they didn’t need, but his father had “suggested” they partake in if they were to be allowed back on special missions after the fiasco of the last one.

He didn’t see Merlin until the day they were being moved back to the front lines. Merlin hadn’t been there when they’d stopped to tell Elyan bye the day before, but he was somehow waiting for them at their Humvee, looking clean for once in a stark-pressed shirt and army green trousers. Leaning against their jeep, he looked like a photograph.

“Merlin!” Gwaine greeted cheerfully, clapping him on the back and breaking whatever image Merlin had made when Merlin almost fell forward with the force of it.

“Elyan said I missed you lot yesterday,” Merlin said, smiling shyly at Arthur, “I hope it’s okay I stopped by.”

“I’d feel a lot better if you came with us. Don’t know how I can go anywhere without my personal medic now that I know what it feels like,” Lancelot teased, moving past him to toss his heavy pack onto the jeep.

Merlin stepped aside, “I’m sure you won’t have any problems winning wars without me. God knows none of you are any help in the infirmary. We all have our strengths, I guess.”

“Sorry about that,” Arthur said awkwardly, and Merlin looked at him curiously, “I meant to come back and help but I kind of put my foot in it when I ordered our retreat.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean-“Merlin started.

“Sir,” Leon interrupted, lifting his chin to where Uther was standing with another commanding officer at the other end of the field.

“God, let’s go before he goes for another lecture,” Gwaine groaned good-naturedly, punching Merlin’s arm one last time before heaving himself into the driver’s seat.

Merlin looked at him dubiously; any vehicle Gwaine drove was surely more dangerous than the front.

As Leon and Lance loaded the rest of their things, and Tristan led the rest of the boys down to commander the other vehicle, Arthur looked back at Merlin.

“For the record, I think you made the right choice bringing them back,” Merlin said, squaring his shoulders as if he thought Arthur would disagree with him, “The best kind of leader doesn’t forget that men fight wars, not blind courage. Casualties are more than just a number.”

“Yeah,” Arthur said, shrugging. He wondered if Merlin knew how high-stakes their missions were. How Uther reported to Churchill himself, how his team had more kills than any other in the British Army. He wondered how Merlin would feel about that.

“Just…don’t let my work go to waste,” Merlin shrugged awkwardly, stepping farther away as Gwaine revved up the engine. They were waiting on him now.

“I’ll try not to make a habit of sending my boys your way,” Arthur promised, finally climbing into the passenger seat by Gwaine.

“Not too much of a habit, maybe.” Merlin said, waving and any other words between them were lost in the roar of the engine as Gwaine pulled away.

 

They won a few battles, stole information, found their way to Nice and back again without too many injuries. It had been a little over three months since they’d been back. Base was quiet for once; most troops were holding the front lines in a silent stalemate. It was Christmas Eve.

He made his way to the infirmary alone, when he had a moment. Gaius was the only attendant, checking a soldier’s trench foot.

“Is Merlin about?” Arthur asked when he’d finished and come over to talk to him.

“He went home for the holiday,” Gaius said, scrubbing his wrinkled hands clean with a rag. Arthur wondered if he’d ever get used to the smell of blood and rotting flesh.

“Oh,” Arthur said dumbly. Because of course he did. The military wasn’t home to everyone, like it was for his family. Some had lives outside of it.

“He made me promise to watch out for your team before he’d go though,” Gaius said, eyes twinkling, “I could barely force him onto the train as it was.”HeH

“We’ll probably be gone before he’s back,” Arthur swallowed. He, Gwaine, Lance, Leon, Percival, and Elyan were being sent out again in a few days to London. It wouldn’t be as dangerous as the mission they’d just returned from, but it would be long, “Tell him I stopped by, won’t you?”

“I will. He left this for you, before he went.” Gaius went to his desk pressed against the corner of the schoolbuilding. He handed Arthur a letter.

“Thank you, Gaius. Erm…do you need anything here?” He asked.

“No, it’s calm for now. They were singing Christmas songs earlier, you know.”

“The soldiers?”

“Both sides.” Gaius sighed tiredly, “I wonder if we’ll ever end this war.”

When he was back in his tent, Arthur opened the letter. He’d never seen Merlin’s handwriting before. He’d written Arthur’s name in a messy scrawl on the front.

 

_Arthur,_

_Did you know before you left that you would be gone this long? I’d have liked to be included in this tidbit of information. Instead I keep picturing you showing up, dragging our friends half-dead beside you. Or none of you showing up at all._

_Your father doesn’t seem worried though so I suppose you must have some sort of contact with each other and you’re all probably fine. Tristan and the lot made it back ages ago but they didn’t/couldn’t give any updates._

_Is it strange that I’m writing you? Gaius suggested it before I left to put my mind at ease. I don’t think it’d go over well if I left the letter with your father, so I trust you and Gaius would find each other. It’s a bit weird, I think, but it is making me feel better. I wish I could hear from you._

_I’m going home for Christmas. I haven’t seen mum in ages, so it’ll be good to see her. But I haven’t missed Ealdor, and I’m worried it hasn’t missed me either. I can’t imagine being anywhere else except for the infirmary anymore._

_I hope you’re all somewhere safe and warm for Christmas._

_Worriedly,_

_Merlin_

Arthur didn’t have time to write a letter back before they were off again, between preparations for the trip and reporting on the multiple back-to-back missions they’d just completed. didn’

He didn’t get the chance until he was on the train to London, Leon asleep in the seat beside him.

_Merlin,_

_Sorry to have kept you worried. We didn’t plan to be gone so long but we discovered some important info that had to be taken care of. That’s all I can say without committing treason against the Queen._

_I spent Christmas preparing for this trip, which will unfortunately keep me and the boys away in London for the next month at least. It won’t be fighting in any snow, which is better than where we were late December last year. I don’t mean to complain. For God and country, right?_

_We had few injuries, luckily nothing we couldn’t patch up ourselves. Perhaps Lance is right, and we should kidnap you to take with us next time. Have any special skills that could qualify you for special forces?_

_I know what you mean about going home. I don’t suppose I have a home outside of the military anymore. Not one that I remember. Can’t see dad as much of a homesteader though, can you?_

_I’m on a train to London now. As soon as we get to where we’re going, I’ll send this off. We’ll have the same address for a while if you’d like to exchange news and such. I’m sure the boys would like to say hello too._

_Merry Christmas,_

_Arthur Pendragon_

As soon as he and the boys settled into their barracks, he excused himself to the nearest post to send the letter. He hadn’t mentioned it to the boys yet, though he knew Gwaine and Lance at least would like to hear from Merlin. He rationalized with himself that Merlin had only left him a letter, so he could keep him a secret for a little longer. It’s not like he had many others to keep all on his own, and none were as pleasant as thinking of Merlin.


End file.
